Chapter - 18.1
Soon a couple of weeks passed, and November came. With the advent of November, the weather changed drastically, and it turned cold... Very cold. The mountains around the school had become ice grey, while the lakes were chilled steel. Even the ground would be covered in frost every morning. Luckily, Hagrid was there. Every morning dressed in a long moleskin overcoat, gloves and enormous boots, he would throw defrosting broomsticks on every ground on the school premise.
Even the Quidditch season was about to start. Alex felt pity for every player who had to ride those highspeed brooms in such freezing weather. They would be lucky if they didn't die of frostbite first. But in front of the anticipation, the weather was nothing. Coming Saturday, the greatest rivals in Hogwarts were facing each other. It was Gryffindor versus Slyhtherin. One could ask for no better opener to the Quidditch Season. Slytherin is the reigning champion, while the drought in the Gryffindor camp has lasted too long.
But apart from the rivalry, there was something else that everyone in the school was keen to see, the youngest seeker in the history of Hogwarts. Gryffindor has left no stone unturned to make sure everyone in the school knew about Harry. They wanted to cash in on Harry's popularity and raise the morale of the Gryffindors. If they won, they could easily control the narrative going forward. But it was a double-edged sword. And that is why... Maybe the Slytherins were even more eager to see Harry on that Quidditch field than the Gryffindor themselves.
Meanwhile, Alex sat alone on a bench on the lawn. His class had just ended, and there was some time before his next class started. So he decided to enjoy what little of the sun peeked through the clouds. He was not bothered about the ongoing rivalry between Gryffindor and Slytherin. They can all go to hell for all he cares. And apart from that, Alex has also been keeping an eye on Potter through that map. And the latter has been silent for all this time. He would do nothing but attend classes and join for his Quidditch training every now and then. It was all so peaceful.
Alex sighed when he thought about the peace. But right at this moment, he heard Professor Snape. He turned his face to look behind and found Professor Snape standing in front of Ron and Harry.
Professor Snape was not in the best mood. Irked, he reprimanded the two friends for a while for only God knows why before he took the book from Harry's hand and turned around to leave.
But that was nothing new to Alex. It was a habit of his master to verbally bash Potter every chance he got. But what caught his attention was the limping. As Professor Snape walked away, Alex could see him limping. Which made him concerned. Alex could not help but remember the conversation from the night the troll attacked. Since then, Alex and Professor Snape have not conversed in private.
[Flashback]
Just as they left the washroom, Alex followed Professor Snape down the corridor towards the latter's office. No one spoke for some time before Professor Snape finally broke the silence.
"Looks like you are enjoying your time at Hogwarts? More than I imagined," Professor Snape pointed out. He was clearly implying towards the little date he had with Hermione.
"It's not unbearable for the time being," Alex nodded, "And there is nothing like that between me, and that girl."
Alex got the meaning behind Professor Snape's words, and straightaway addressed Hermione as that girl. They were just having dinner and getting to know each other. If Professor Snape knew that, he would no doubt feel that it was cold and mean of Alex.
"But you seem to care about her," Professor Snape asked.
"I was just returning a favour," Alex said, and Professor Snape believed him.
"And what about Nicole? Looks like you patched things up," Professor Snape quickly changed the topic. He was curious about Alex's double whammy behaviour.
"Indeed," Alex nodded, "I once read something somewhere. It was written by a father when asked how to handle the kids. It was something along these lines," Alex said.
"The boys are to be beaten, and girls are to be adored,"
"That's interesting," Professor Snape was amused, "Not that I would need it..."
"I can occasionally be harsh on her," Alex shrugged, "But in the end, she is to be adored."
"I don't understand you one bit when it comes to your sister," Professor Snape had to give up reasoning with Alex, "She is your sister. You can do whatever you want."
"... Now, since I know how easy it could have been for you to defeat that troll, I don't feel good rewarding you points," Professor Snape once again changed the direction of the conversation, "But I will have to give you at least five points."
"About that..." Alex hesitated, "It was not as simple as you might want to believe."
"And what does that mean?" Professor Snape stopped and turned towards Alex. They were already in front of the Potions classroom. And so, Alex then narrated the fight he had with the troll. How after being incapacitated once, the troll was able to break free from the spell and attack Potter. Alex told everything without leaving any detail.
After Alex was done narrating the episode, Professor Snape did not express his opinion right away. Instead, he thought about it for a while before asking.
"Did you see something odd about that troll?" Professor Snape asked, "Something that should not have been there?"
"Well, I haven't seen a troll with a piercing in my life," Alex didn't even hesitate. In fact, he might already know the reason behind that unlikely scenario, "The troll had an earring in one of its ears."
"Earring? Where is it now?" Professor snape nodded and asked.
"Got destroyed," Alex shook his head, "I didn't pay much attention to it at the beginning. Just a glimpse. But when the troll broke through my spell, the earring in his ear was already gone. I feel like it was a one-time use artefact," Alex told Professor Snape.
"Is that so?" Professor Snape frowned a bit, "I will look into it later. You can go now," The Professor waved his hand.
"Yes, Professor," Alex nodded and left.
[Flashback end]
And today, when Alex saw his master limping on his feet, he had this hunch that maybe he was looking into the matter from before. But instead of being curious, he was more concerned about his master. And that concern made him follow behind Professor Snape.
* * * * *
